Capsule Review: Senran Kagura Estival Versus
A brawler starring busty schoolgirl ninjas who take clothing damage. A direct sequel to Senran Kagura Shinovi Versus that is mostly bigger and better - the cast has grown to twenty-eight playable characters without DLC (with the fun variety and unfortunate character shallowness that implies) and while you still fight through rooms of enemies to get to the boss at the end, the combat is more satisfying and feels less like filler - due partly to just looking better and having more on-screen enemies at once on the PS4, and partly to it serving as an important adjustment period since you’re rotating between so many characters all the time. The story is the weakest in the mainline series so far, though it has some great character moments. Diorama mode (pose up to five characters for screenshots) and the new “creative finisher” set pieces are fun fanservicey additions that take advantage of the series’s first HD excursion. The abusive DLC model from the previous Sony installments is back - only worse, since it’s no longer part of a cross-buy platform. All in all, it doesn’t really move the series forward, but it is Senran Kagura on a console, looking better than ever and with perhaps the best combat yet.
I Stopped Playing When: I finished the game and all optional objectives, but didn’t pick up any of the DLC.
Three Stars: Good. I liked the game enough to finish it (or just play it a bunch, for games that don't end). I recommend it to most genre fans.